


Works Every Time

by Omness



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bend and Snap, F/M, Slight Humor, pining (and somewhat thirsty) Dimitri, pining Sylvain, slight romance, this fic is basically a legally blonde reference, unrequited crush?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21600505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omness/pseuds/Omness
Summary: The White Heron Cup is coming up and Sylvain needs to really wow the judges if he hopes to win. Thankfully Byleth knows the perfect move to catch their attention.The Bend and Snap.Chapter 2: An alternate version with Dimitri.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Sylvain Jose Gautier/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 116





	1. Look at my ass, look at my thighs

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't even gotten to the timeskip yet on my first route. But I saw the dancer animation and had to write this. Please enjoy.

Sylvain finished the last twirl of the dance, stopping in a dramatic pose in front of Professor Byleth as her rhythmic claps came to a stop. There was silence for a few seconds as Byleth stared thoughtfully at Sylvain. At least, Sylvain was pretty sure it was thoughtfully, it was different from her usual neutral expression, and she had tilted her head to rest in her fist in a thoughtful manner.

The silence continued, only interrupted by Sylvain’s quiet pants echoing in the choir room as he tried to regulate his breathing. After a while with no comment from the Professor, Sylvain finally broke his pose, wiping the sweat from his brow and shooting a grin at Byleth to cover his confusion, “Well Professor? I think that was my best yet.”

Byleth blinked, a ripple upon still water as she seemed to surface from her thoughts. “I agree, but your choreography needs a little extra… oomph.”

“Oomph?”

Byleth nodded in confirmation. “Yes. You need something eye catching at the beginning of your dance. Something that makes certain all eyes are on you and want to stay on you.”

Sylvain put his hands on his hips as he shifted his weight, he could agree with the professor there. He would need something special to win against Dorothea, who would surely be the Black Eagle House representative. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Byleth stared at him seriously, her gaze like a magnifying glass while he was a specimen pinned under her gaze. It sent shivers up his spine. “Professor?” He asked tentatively.

“I will show you something you can do, but you have to promise to only use it for good Sylvain.”

“For good?” Sylvain asked, raising an eyebrow.

Byleth let out a small sigh. “Maybe that’s a little unfair. Just promise you won’t use it irresponsibly.”

“Irresponsibly? What even is it?”

“Just promise Sylvain.”

Sylvain shrugged, hands up, “I promise?”

Byleth only stared.

“Cross my heart and hope to die?”

Staring.

Sylvain held out his right hand, pinky extended. “Pinky swear.”

Byleth reached out and entwined her pinky with Sylvain’s and said seriously. “Pinky Swear.” Then she spoke in a lighter tone of voice as she retracted her hand. “I learned this move from an Alymran mercenary that signed up under Jeralt several years ago. She guaranteed a ninety-eight percent success rate on attracting attention, with high success on return dinner dates. And from the few times I’ve used it, and seen it used, she’s right.”

“So what is this amazing move?” Sylvain asked skeptically.

“Watch carefully.” Byleth said, moving a few steps away so he could see her clearly. “This is called the Bend and Snap.” She then proceeded to bend over, letting her hand unfurl as it followed the path of her leg that was set out slightly in front of the other. Once her fingertips were about to touch the floor, she snapped up straight, her hands coming up to accentuate her pushed up chest. She also flipped her head just enough to flick her hair, meeting Sylvain’s gaze as she did so. Sylvain involuntarily gulped.

“I’ll show you one more time.” Byleth said, then turned so Sylvain could see her from the side, and Sylvain watched clinically as Byleth repeated the action. He noted the speed of each of her actions, the angle of her bend, and the cock of her leg after she had snapped up. He saw the appeal of it, and why it would help him gain the focus of everyone. Once Byleth had finished the motion she looked at Sylvain, “Now you try.”

“Like this?” Sylvain asked, imitating the move, letting his hand trail down his leg, then straightening up quickly as he puffed out his chest.

“Hmmm, not quite. Somehow you have a little too much snap, try relaxing it a bit.”

The two of them went over the motion several times as Sylvain tried to improve it. It wasn’t long before Byleth said, “There, that’s perfect. If that doesn’t make someone want to watch you move then they’re just not attracted to you. I know it certainly catches my attention.”

“Professor?” Sylvain asked, surprised.

“Now I want you to try and incorporate it into your dance.” Byleth said, ignoring Sylvain. “I want you to do the Bend and Snap, transition into your starting pose, then dance for four counts and stop. Understand?”

“Uh.” Sylvain thought about pushing on what Byleth just said, but decided to drop it. She probably didn’t mean much by it anyways. “Alright.” He said instead, and did as Byleth asked.

The following week after Sylvain won the White Heron Cup -obviously he did, thanks to the Professor’s help- he would constantly hear snatches of conversation about him around Garreg Mach.

“-see Sylvain?”

“-so hot-”

“-the way he moved-”

“-couldn’t take my eyes off him-”

Sylvain wouldn’t lie, it boosted his ego a lot, and he had a lot more pretty ladies to chase after the cup. And he wouldn’t tell Byleth, but he may have used the Bend and Snap to snag a few more out in the town where they hadn’t seen him dance. Needless to say everything was coming up roses for him. Except for one teensy-weensy problem. 

Sylvain could no longer keep his attention on his dates. 

While he was having tea with them he often found his eyes wandering away from their beautiful form as in search of someone else. They’d be out on the town having a lovely chat and he’d lose his focus on the conversation as something in him seemed to long to be with someone else. It was completely unacceptable.

Sylvain knew what his friends would think. That this was just how he usually was. He was always chasing after skirts, looking to the next conquest, was him losing interest really so strange? 

But let it be said that he had never had a complaint from a lady about his lack of attention when he was with them. In fact, he was often complimented for how much he listened and the consideration he showed them. When they weren’t accusing him of cheating anyways. So the fact that they were now calling him out for his wandering attention. Well, it wasn’t like him.

As his attention started to drift from the ladies he was with, Sylvain noticed his thoughts ended up being filled with something else. Specifically, someone else. Professor Byleth.

Inexplicably, he became acutely aware of Byleth whenever she was in the same room as him. She’d walk into the dining hall and he’d find his gaze drifting towards her, watching her gather her food and sit down with a group of people. When in the classroom he’d be all too aware of her presence and where exactly she was whenever she wandered between students to help with questions. One time he even managed to spot her in a crowd on the other side of Garreg Mach’s campus without even realizing he was watching her.

Next he felt the sudden need to spend time with Byleth. When he saw her, he’d often find himself going to her. Picking up his plate of food and sitting next to her if she was eating alone, or jogging across campus to accompany her on a trip to the market. Her presence was soothing and one he was happy to experience. And she didn’t seem to mind his company either. He never knew Byleth to avoid saying she didn’t like something just to be polite.

And then he found himself admiring Byleth so much more than before. Sure he had always respected her. How could you not respect someone who had survived as a mercenary for so long? But then it had slowly deepened into something more than that. He was impressed by how hard she worked to be a good professor for them all, despite having the job foisted upon her without notice, and the time she took to get to know everyone, even just a little. The kindness that he only noticed the more he got to know her.

And then there was the final part. The one that allowed him to put it all together. To figure out what was happening to him. He was lying in his bed trying to sleep when the memory of Byleth doing the Bend and Snap popped into his head. 

His memory flawlessly conjured how the slow seductive way she lowered her hand brought attention to her shapely thighs, while bending over showed off the heavenly curve of her ass. Then there was the small smile that played across her lips as she snapped back up. He had barely noticed it then, but his memory brought it to the forefront now. Byleth rarely ever smiled. How had he not appreciated such perfection when it had been right in front of him?

Then it hit him.

He was  _ pining. _

High success rate of catching someone’s attention indeed.

Sylvain rolled over, pulling his pillow on top of his head with a groan. This was a mess. He was a well known philanderer! He couldn’t go falling for anyone, let alone a  _ professor _ of all people. Sure he would hit on a female professor once or twice, but he knew better than to cross the line of student-teacher relationships!

Not to mention out of all the people to fall for, Byleth was least likely to return his feelings. She seemed so indifferent to the goings-on of romance that he doubted that she would be interested in anyone, let alone him.

Well, no use crying over spilt milk right? It was too late to stop his feelings from developing, but at least now he knew why he was always distracted when spending time with the ladies lately. Now he just had to keep those feelings tightly locked up so that no one ever found out. Including Byleth. Especially Byleth.

That thought abruptly got thrown out the window when he overheard a student at the ball say they saw Professor Byleth heading to the Goddess Tower. All of a sudden his thoughts were filled with the urgent need to know who Byleth could be meeting there, and possibly stopping whatever confession was about to happen. He completely abandoned the conversation he was in, barely even throwing out an excuse as he walked out of the ballroom then speed his way through the darkness of campus to the Goddess Tower.

When he reached the Goddess Tower, Sylvain took the time to even out his breathing as he watched Byleth, her back to him. She was leaning against the stone railing of the walkway that lead to the Tower, staring up the stars, alone. No one seemed to be coming. Sylvain would never admit outloud how relieved he was to realize that. Maybe, just maybe, this was his one and only chance?

Sylvain approached as casually as he could, “Evening professor, the stars sure are lovely tonight aren’t they?”

Byleth turned her head and watched him approach, “Sylvain.” She acknowledged.

Sylvain smiled cheekily, “I heard you were headed to the Goddess Tower and got curious who you could be meeting, but this isn’t a lover’s tryst at all, is it?”

“Tryst?” Byleth asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yeah, lovers meet at the Goddess Tower on a night like this, they saw that vows exchanged here last forever.”

“Are you meeting someone here?” Byleth asked.

A slight buzz of nervousness and excitement ran under Sylvain’s skin as he forced his next words out. “Actually, the person I wanted to meet is already here.” Sylvain said, then twirled his index fingers around each other, “I was thinking maybe....”

“Wait, me?” Byleth asked incredulously, her eyes widening slightly.

Not a great sign, but he had already come this far, no backing down now. He could convince her somehow, couldn’t he? “Of course! We’re the only two people here aren’t we? I keep thinking about it, and it just makes sense. My crest and yours…”

Byleth shook her head, “Exchange vows? I don’t believe you Sylvain.”

That was a stab through the heart. But what else did he expect? “That’s fair.”

Sylvain looked down at the ground, too embarrassed to look Byleth in the eyes any longer. “Heh, y’know, I never regretted any of my past behavior until now when you turned me down. I guess I’ll have to become a better man and prove that I mean it.”

He looked back up and met Byleth’s eyes, his confession may not have worked, but at least he tried. And that didn’t mean he had to give up on being by Byleth’s side completely. “I’m gonna head back to the ball now, would you mind accompanying me?”

Byleth nodded. “I’ll go back with you.”

“Well then my lady, I hope you’ll give me the honor of a dance when we get back.”

Byleth gave a small smile. “We’ll see.”


	2. I'm catnip to the guys

“You want me to do what?” Dimiri asked incredulously.

The flat expression the professor gave him almost felt tinged with exasperation. “The Bend and Snap. Is it really that complicated?”

“N-no,” Dimitri shook his head fervently, “but-” he could feel a slight flush heat up his cheeks, “is it really necessary?”

“You need something to spice up your choreography Dimitri.” Byleth said calmly. “And I don’t think we have time for me to teach you anything else that you could comfortably perform by the time of the competition.” 

“Then perhaps you can have one of the other Blue Lions be the dancer?” Dimitri asked, barely keeping the pleading tone out of his voice. “I’m sure Mercedes, or even Sylvain, would be happy to dance.”

Byleth shook her head. “I’m sorry Dimitri, but you won the vote to represent the Blue Lions, I’m not going to abuse my authority and pick someone else after putting it to vote.”

Dimitri gripped his hands into fists, the professor was right, and he respected her for that, but still! What she was asking him to do, it was, it was-

“I’ll show you again, so pay attention alright?” Byleth said and she repeated that- that move again. And as much as Dimitri wanted to look away it was like his gaze was tied to her form as she smoothly bent down, hand elegantly reaching for the floor. Then as she snapped up Dimitri’s eyes were caught on her breasts as they bounced.

If the earth could open him up and swallow him right now it would be doing Dimitri a favor.

Unfortunately for him it didn’t, and the professor looked at him like she always did, oblivious or ignoring how utterly embarrassed he was.

“Got it?” She asked.

Oh. The movement would be burned into his memory alright. To be hidden away and only to be brought out in the dark of night, when many of his regrets came to light. But could he repeat the action? He only gave the professor a helpless look.

Byleth sighed, “Just try it alright?”

Dimitri did as asked, bending down with his hand stretched out in front of him, then snapping back up straight, feeling utterly ridiculous as he did so. What would people think if they saw him doing such an oddly sensual movement?

When Dimitri looked to the professor for a critique, the expression on Byleth’s face was painfully neutral. Not an inch of emotion showed.

Dimitri’s face fell, disappointed even though he didn’t really want to do this, “That bad huh?”

“It had,” the professor’s hesitation was almost palpable, “potential.”

“Right.” Dimitri responded, unconvinced.

“We’ll work on it.” Byleth said with some encouragement. “Do it again, but this time, go slowly. Think about what your body is doing, and what each motion is going to be before you do it. Think about what you would find the most appealing.”

He found Byleth doing the Bend and Snap the most appealing, but he was going to keep his mouth tightly shut on that fact.

Instead he very slowly bent down, watching his hand trail down his leg as he tried to recreate the same flair the professor had. Then he carefully straightened up, letting his chest puff out and feeling like some arrogant, fancily plumed bird as he did so.

This time when Dimitri looked at the professor, she nodded in approval. 

“Much better. Keep doing that, but slowly get faster as you do it.”

Dimitri sighed, but did as asked. Bending down and snapping up slowly, consciously thinking about the movements and getting a better feel for them, working his way up to smoother and faster iterations.

It didn’t take long to be lost in the repetitiveness of it, and Dimitri barely noticed as Byleth said something, then stepped in closer, he simply snapped up without a thought and felt the impact against the back of his head and heard Byleth’s surprisingly quiet exclamation of pain.

Dimitri could only look on in horror, his lungs freezing breathlessly as Byleth recoiled in pain. Her hands came up to cover her nose as blood started to leak from it. Tears formed in Byleth’s eyes and words started stumbling out of Dimitri’s mouth, tripping over themselves in a rush to get out as his hands fluttered frantically through air, wanting to touch Byleth and reassure she was okay, but unable to cross that barrier.

“I’msososorryprofessorishouldhavebeenpayingmoreattentionareyoualright-”

Byleth held up a hand, the other still at her nose as she tilted her head forward.

Abruptly, Dimitri froze, his hands stilling and his words drying up.

“It’s alright Dimitri.” The professor said, the words sounding slightly stuffy.

“It is NOT alright.” Dimitri said forcefully. “I should have been more careful and now you’re hurt because of me.”

“I’ll be fine.” Byleth said matter-of-factly, then continued tentatively. “But if you could guide me to the infirmary I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to tilt my head too far back.”

“Of course.” Dimitri said, nodding. He stepped up next to Byleth then hesitated, uncertain. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a handkerchief, thankfully cleaned recently, and handed it over to the professor. “Here.”

Byleth took the handkerchief gratefully, crumbling up the cloth and pressing it against her swelling nose to absorb some of the flow of blood, while tears still leaked down her face from the impact.

Once that was settled, Dimitri gently took the professor’s free arm and guided her out of the choir practice room and across campus to the infirmary. Dimitri tried hard to ignore the stares and whispers of curious students as they made the trek, but Dimitri couldn’t help but feel his ears warm in embarrassment at the attention.

When they reached the infirmary, Professor Manuela was there and surprisingly sober, though she blinked confusedly at them before quickly stashing away a wine bottle and standing up.

“Well, what do we have here?” Manuela asked in interest, “I didn’t think I’d see you here while requiring my services Professor.”

“I got hit in the nose.” Byleth answered, “Figured I should get it looked at.”

“Huh-uh. And how did that happen?” Manuela asked, raising an eyebrow at Dimitri as she came forward to guide Byleth into the chair she had just been occupying.

Would his blush never fade? Dimitri’s cheeks felt like they had been on fire for the past hour.

“She was coaching me for the White Heron Cup and I accidentally headbutted her.”

Manuela paused her examination of Byleth’s face to glance at Dimitri in disbelief, “You… headbutted her? While dancing.”

“That’s right.” Byleth answered before Dimitri could. “Maybe next battle I’ll see if Dimitri can use that hard head of his as a weapon.”

“Professor...” Dimitri groaned, hiding his face hands.

Manuela hummed a response, and then began lecturing Byleth about what she was doing as she gathered various items from the scattered mess of the infirmary. It was nothing serious, but Manuela still needed to splint Byleth’s nose.

Dimitri watched from the doorway as Manuela treated Byleth. Manuela hadn’t bothered to fully clean the blood from Byleth before applying gauze, so there was still a red smear across her lip and Dimitri found his gaze locked onto it, following the line of it down to where it had dripped onto her chest. The color of it contrasted beautifully against her pale skin and an idle part of Dimitri’s mind wondered what her skin would look like if blood was brought to it in other ways. How soft her flesh would feel in between his teeth.

“Ah?” Dimitri brought his fingers up to his nose in surprise, pulling them away to reveal his gloves slightly damp from blood.

Manuela glanced up at the sound Dimitri made and exclaimed, “Oh dear, did you get a nosebleed? Sit down and I’ll help you in a moment.”

Somewhat dazed, Dimitri did exactly that. Moving to the only place free of junk, one of the beds, to sit down.

Manuela left Byleth to dig through a cabinet for a cloth. Once she found one she brought it over to Dimitri and said, “Here, use this to absorb the blood. Meanwhile, keep your head tilted forward as you pinch the bridge of your nose.”

As Dimitri complied Manuela returned to Byleth, still talking, “I swear, with how dry the air is this time of year I get at least three students everyday coming to me with a bloody nose hoping that I’ll dismiss them from the rest of their classes. It’s quite troublesome really.”

Dimitri grunted noncommittally at that, too embarrassed to say anything. Had he really gotten a nosebleed from staring at the professor? Clearly this was another reminder of his shamefulness. He needed to keep a much better hold on his base instincts. He really was a boar, just as Felix said.

With a hard stare at the floor, Dimitri tried to marshall his thoughts into something more befitting a prince of Faerghus.

But even as he tried not to, Dimitri couldn’t help glancing at the profile of the professor from the corner of his eye. She was watching Manuela with her usual indifference as Manuela continued to prattle on, but Dimitri could almost swear the corner of her mouth was upturned slightly. Then her eyes flickered to Dimitri, their gazes met and her lovely pink lips expanded into what he could only describe as a smirk.

Dimitri instinctively jerked, pulling his gaze back to the floor. The grain of the wood was so very interesting and demanded all of his attention. There was no way the professor had just smirked at him! Was she really so amused by his predicament? Did she know the way he felt? She couldn’t. Could she?

As Dimitri tried to calm the storm of his thoughts, Manuela finished treating Byleth around the same time Dimitri’s nosebleed stopped. So, with clap of her hands she dismissed them from the infirmary, barely waiting till they were out the door before pulling out the wine bottle again.

Once they were in the hallway Dimitri turned to Byleth. “I want to give you my sincere apologies for hurting you. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, know that I will do it with utter fervor.”

Byleth stared up at him, with the bandages and the swelling around her nose her expression was harder to read than usual, but she looked serious as she said, “Anything?”

“Anything.” Dimitri agreed eagerly.

“Then I have one thing to ask of you.” Byleth said ponderously, stepping in close to Dimitri as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The touch made Dimitri tense, and Dimitri could only wonder what the mysterious but somehow endlessly kind Byleth could want from him.

“What is it?”

Byleth stared directly into Dimitri’s eyes as she said with utmost gravity. “Win the White Heron Cup. After all this I refuse to let the Blue Lions lose to the other two houses.”

Dimitri didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. The swirling mix of emotions at the unexpected but yet unsurprising request caused him to choke as he responded, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good.” Byleth said, squeezing Dimitri’s shoulder. “Then free up your schedule. Because every day until the competition you are going to dance until you drop.”

Dimitri was in hell and he just didn’t know it yet.


End file.
